Papers of the Week

Building on the recent finding that chronic pain patients with impaired functioning of the descending nociceptive inhibitory system (DNIS) present lower resting heart rate variability (HRV), this study aims to investigate the impact of Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) on HRV in patients with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). More precisely, we hypothesize that SCS influences the DNIS, with increased parasympathetic tone as a consequence, as measurable by HRV analysis.